A Heart for God

In the opening chapter we are instructed and exhorted to grow in our knowledge of God. The pinnacle of our existence is coming to know increasingly the great being that has created us and all things that exist. Most of the remaining chapters are concerned with God's attributes:His wisdom,holiness,faithfulness and His power etc. As we learn who the Lord is ,we should seek and desire to be like Him.As we learn of the Lord's wisdom,for example,we should seek to be wise as He is wise.Sinclair Ferguson writes on p.104 "We learn wisdom from God and we are urged to'Be very careful,then,how you live-not as unwise,but as wise'(Eph.5:15).The child of God is urged to become like his father. If we come to a better understanding of the character of God,that will help us to better understand(and appreciate)how the Lord works in the lives of His people.The Lord's work in this regard is often through trials and suffering which help develop the character that He desires to be manifested in His children.This is fleshed out in several ways in chap.7 'God only Wise'.The apostle Paul writing to the Phillipians wants them to understand that the wisdom of God is being displayed through his imprisonment. He teaches them this in Phil.1:12-14,by revealing to them the results of his being in prison:1.the gospel is being advanced,2.the palace guards have come to realize that Paul is in prison for Christ's sake and thirdly that the brethrens boldness to speak God's word has increased due to Paul's imprisonment. When we begin to view our trials and suffering in this light we are walking more by faith than by sight. If we follow the exortation to grow in our knowledge of God,then learn increasingly who God is ,so that we may (by His power)be transformed and become more like our Maker and Lord ,then this we lead to more God honouring worship,which is what the last couple of chapters speak to. I think the purpose of this book is to set forth God's character so that it will produce the type of worship that the Lord both desires and rquires of His children.

People kept recommending this book to me, but it took me forever to get around to reading it. I wish that I would have listened to them sooner because it is really a great book about God and all His majesty and splendor. The chapters are short enough and topical enough to serve as a devotional, which is how I read it.Ferguson really challenged me to think about God in a deeper way than I had before, and I am indebted to him for helping me to meditate more closely on who God is and what He has done for us in His Son, Jesus Christ. I plan to read this one again.